Travel agency ArrangeMY Escape has opened a second branch after finding “the perfect premises”.
The store on Worcester Road in Malvern, Worcestershire, started trading on Friday, May 5, with three new recruits fresh to the industry.
General manager Jennifer Lynch is currently splitting her time between the new shop and the store in Worcester about 10 miles away.
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“I always had the inkling of wanting to open another shop and it felt like now or never,” Lynch said, adding that the opportunity came at the “perfect time” and in the “perfect premises”.
The Malvern shop’s three agents – Joshua Benson-Smith, Max Rhodes and Martha Day – are receiving support from Lynch as they settle into their first jobs in travel. They spent a month in the Worcester store to get a feel for the business.
Lynch said: “They’re all under 26 years old, so they have different ideas and their concept of sustainability is amazing.”
Lynch, who has worked in travel for 20 years, said it was important to introduce new talent to the sector.
“The industry needs fresh blood – it lost people during Covid. A lot of people retired or got made redundant,” she said.
Although training the new agents will take time and effort, Lynch said it would be worth it in the long-term. She added that the Worcester store had been in the same situation when it opened.
The Malvern branch made its first booking – a Tui trip to Morocco – on Tuesday, May 9, which was its third day of trading.
Lynch said: “I can’t wait to see what Malvern has in store. There’s a really good demographic here – it’s the 50-plus and 60-plus market – and it’s an old spa town.”
The new store was opened on the back of the original shop’s success, Lynch said.
“We’ve been inundated and smashed every target every year since opening,” she said, adding that a key factor was the decision to scrap discounting.
“We looked at the business model and looked at what could change. Discounts got removed but we explained why to the clients and our profits went up,” Lynch said.
The Malvern branch will have an official opening event on June 1, with local businesses set to receive invites.
Asked about future plans for ArrangeMY Escape, Lynch said she was interested in the idea of adding a homeworking division.
“I need to have a little look into it, but that could definitely work for us,” she said.
The Malvern premises was previously occupied by a kitchen shop, Lynch said.
Photo: Jennifer Lynch, general manager of ArrangeMy Escape